Suspected Swedish spy now also investigated for conspiracy to murder in Moscow

A 34-year-old man already suspected of espionage against Sweden is now also being investigated for conspiracy to commit murder in Moscow, according to updated allegations reported by Swedish news site Expressen.

The man, who was arrested in January 2026, previously worked for the Swedish armed forces and had IT-related assignments for Bonnier News. He is accused of engaging in espionage from January 2025 until his arrest. Before his detention, he contacted journalists and urged them to scrutinise the National Defence Radio Establishment (FRA).

Prosecutors allege he “went to meet Russian intelligence.” The new suspicion concerns conspiracy to murder, which under Swedish law means that a person, in consultation with another, plans to commit a crime or attempts to persuade someone else to carry it out, or offers to commit it themselves. The alleged murder plot is said to have taken place in Moscow in December 2025.

Senior prosecutor Mats Ljungkvist, who leads the preliminary investigation, declined to comment in detail. “We are in a very sensitive stage of the investigation,” he told Expressen.

The circumstances leading to the new charge have not been made public. The suspicion is at the higher level of “probable cause.”